HB197 (School Materials Amendments)

HB197 sought to expand on the prior sensitive materials law, HB29, passed in 2024. This bill would have required schools to use automated filters in screening databases and other online content and to immediately ban access to materials upon a “plausible” complaint. Like HB29, which is currently the subject of litigation, the bill would have required the material to be pulled statewide once enough districts flagged it, undermining local control over our schools. Additionally, under this bill, guardians could have sued schools and educational vendors, exposing local education agencies to legal liability that Utah taxpayer dollars would, in turn, cover.